My Impossible Girl
by impossible girl in a red dress
Summary: The Doctor and Clara encounter some of Clara's echoes, both physically and mentally.
1. Chapter 1

The woman in red sprints down the dark corridor, her heels crashing loudly against the hard ground. She glances down briefly at her gold pocket watch. She's running out of time to stop him and the consequences are too great if she doesn't. In the far distance, she can hear an alarm going off. The guards will be on their way. Her legs move faster, pausing only to open the doorways with her sonic probe.

Finally, she reaches the end of her journey, just in time to see two figures standing beside four large silver cylinders. Each cylinder has a white door with instructions imprinted upon the centre. As the woman gets closer she observes that the figures are a man in a dark blue suit and a woman. The latter pushes open the door and steps inside the second machine. The man is about to follow when finally, the woman in red reaches him.

"Doctor." She says, standing beside the third machine. "Doctor."

"Yes? What is it? What do you want?" He asks, glancing around him in case there are others.

"Sorry, but you're about to make a very big mistake." The Doctor frowns. Surely this woman can't be trying to stop him. "Don't steal that one, steal this one." She leans against the third machine. "The navigation system is knackered but you'll have much more fun." The Doctor looks at her with a questionably, the lines on his forehead becoming crowded.

"How do you know all this? These TARDIS' belong in a museum; no one is supposed to be aware that they can work." He has his arms crossed and is glaring at her with open distrust. His female companion steps out of the second TARDIS and gives the Red Woman a suspicious glance.

"Doctor, you haven't got much time. I only want to help." The red woman is cut off by the sound of footsteps outside of the room. "Please Doctor. I know you don't know but for the love of Gallifrey, take this TARDIS and run!" The red woman pushes the companion into the TARDIS, the Doctor following closely just as the guards burst into the room. Their guns are raised, the double barrels aimed at the Doctor's and Red Woman's two hearts.

"Get in Doctor, I'll be fine" she whispers to the man. He shakes his head, his eyes never straying from the guns. "I'll distract them while you hop inside and fly away." He shakes his head more vigorously.

"I'll come back and get you." He tells her, finally facing her. Now it's her time to shake her head.

"I told you, the navigation's knackered. Now go in! And spare me a thought now and then, will you." She pulls out her own gun, shoots at the guards and runs towards the exit. The guards all but forget the Doctor and race after her.

The Doctor throws himself into the TARDIS, heading straight for the magnificent control room. He vows to rescue the unnamed woman and sets the TARDIS for 2 minutes into the future. The ship shakes violently, tossing him and his companion to the floor before sounding off three long wails. He picks himself up, running for the door and stepping out onto a patch of purple grass. He frowns and checks his pocket watch. He observes that the TARDIS has taken him 2 minutes into the future, however this isn't Gallifrey.

Meanwhile, the Red Woman is running through corridors towards the landing strip where her own ship lies. Guns are flying in the air around her yet she smiles. She passes a window and can't help but glance out at the burnt orange sky. There it is, the Doctor and his TARDIS flying past into the universe.

"Run you clever boy, and remember." She whispers to herself. Bracing herself, she turns to run when a loud bang stops her in her tracks. A surge of pain stems from her left heart. Bang! A second surge of agony emanates from her other heart. She brings her hands to her chest, feeling the hot liquid spill through her fingers. Her body crumples and she hits the floor with a soft thud. Breathing becomes excruciating, coming out as quick shallow breaths. She stares out into the window, inviting the orange light to bring her death with open arms.

_My name is Clara Oswald and I was born to save the Doctor. The Doctor is safe now, and my story is done._


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor sits by the bed, his head bent over and his large hands enveloped around the hands of the petite unconscious woman. His Clara, who has done the impossible, broken herself into a million echoes just to save him. He only wishes he has saved her too. It hadn't been easy escaping his time stream as it collapsed around them. He had used some of his regeneration energy along with his sonic screwdriver to open a gateway back to Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Afterwards the Doctor had fallen to his knees and passed out. Strax was able to revive him shortly however Clara had been unresponsive to the attempts. Strax advised that she would now be experiencing all the lives of her echoes and the chances of her surviving the onslaught of memories were slim.

That was nine days ago. The Doctor refused to believe she would not recover and never left her side except to park the TARDIS outside the Maitland's home behind a bush. The children Artie and Angie came in to visit before and after school. Often they talked to Clara as though she was conscious and brought jammy dodgers and tea for the Doctor. The children fretted over the fate of their nanny but had promised to keep her condition secret from their father, instead telling him that Clara was away travelling with her boyfriend. Every few hours the Doctor would get up from his position to adjust the TARDIS controls that kept Clara nourished. As the days passed by, the actions turned into routine and the time of saving planets became distant memories.

On the tenth day she showed movement. Her fingers twitched within the Doctor's and her eyelids fluttered. The Doctor's head snapped up to gaze at her with wonder and hope.

"Clara? Clara can you hear me?' He asked, his hands reaching up to her face and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. He knew she'd survive; his impossible girl can always beat the odds.

"Doctor, Doctor please help me." She murmurs with her eyes firmly shut.

"I'm right here Clara." He assures her.

"Doctor please I'm falling! I'm falling please help me!" Clara shouts out, tears seeping out of her eyes. "Please Doctor!" The Doctor brings her closer to him, speaking softly into hair, all the while stroking it.

"It's just a dream Clara. I'm here to protect you. I'm _always_ going to be here to protect you." Clara begins thrashing in his arms, kicking and screaming. The Doctor holds on tightly until her actions subside. With a loud gasp, Clara's eyes fling open and land upon his face. They gaze into each other's eyes and their breaths mingle together. He places a kiss on her forehead. "You're safe now Clara."

"I saw it all Doctor, while I was unconscious. All those lives, all your faces and every time I was running to save you." She looks away from him, fresh tears running down her face. "A thousand lives and a thousand loved ones. They're gone now. Will the pain ever stop?" She knows he's only one who could understand what she's feeling. Anyone who's lived as long as he has would know real pain.

The Doctor sighs and shakes his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. I've been running for a long time to escape pain Clara, ever since a woman died for me when I first stole the TARDIS in Gallifrey." He stopped himself short before he told her the whole story. The Red Woman had been the first person to die in the name of the Doctor, and despite that Clara had evidently been there his whole life, he preferred to keep some aspects hidden.

Clara is still for a moment. The scene sounds familiar. She shakes it off, he probably mentioned it before. Instead she focuses on the proximity between her and the Doctor. It's closer than they've been before. She tries to do the trick; the one where she doesn't fall in love with him but she knows it doesn't work. It hasn't for quite some time now. The Doctor gives her a tight squeeze that seems to last forever.

"I ought to fetch Angie and Artie. They've been worried sick." He tells her, reluctant to move away from her.

"Please, don't go yet." Clara whispers, gazing up at his face. "Could we just stay like this for awhile? I don't think I'm ready to face them yet."

"Of course, take all the time you need." He whispers back. The pair remain entangled on the bed, just them, the Doctor and his impossible girl.


	3. Chapter 3

Clara sits with her face in her hands as she stares glumly at the burnt, sunken soufflé perched on the kitchen counter. She still can't figure out where she's going wrong; she follows her mother's recipe exactly. With a sigh, she gets up and throws the soufflé into the Maitland's bin. Methodically, she begins cleaning up the dirty bowls for reuse. She'd been sentenced to house arrest by the Doctor until he felt she would be fully recovered from time stream. She's spent most of her time baking soufflés, doing housework and watching bad sit-coms on the television, anything to avoid memories of her echoes.

Clara moves towards the laundry room when she hears the three wails of the TARDIS. Her lips spread out into a wide smile and she heads towards the front door. Soon, the intercom buzzes throughout the house. Clara purposely walks slower than her usual pace, knowing how impatient the Doctor can be. Sure enough, the intercom sounds again, indicating that the time lord is leaving his finger pressed on the button.

"You certainly took your time." He mutters when Clara flings open the door before walking in. He spins around to face her, straightening up his bowtie and says, "Never mind that though, the Doctor is in. How's the patient?"

"Bored and a little stir-crazy." Clara admits, looking up at him. "It's been two days; please tell me we're going somewhere."

The Doctor smiles down at her "You're in luck. The Nemoni of the planet Nemonoria are having a coronation. It's an underwater planet so you'll need a bathing suit and-" He stops when he notices Clara's raised eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"An underwater planet? Doctor if you wanted me in a bikini, all you had to do was ask" She gives him a wink and goes upstairs, leaving the Doctor stammering and stuttering behind her.

The Doctor studiously ignores Clara when she enters the TARDIS, pulling and pushing at the controls that have no function when it comes to flying the ship. Clara leans against the railing to admire him in his element. It fascinated her how he could be so clumsy at times yet completely in control at others. She had tried learning to fly however the ship's dislike for her made it almost impossible. Clara hoped the TARDIS would start warming up to her since she had saved the Doctor's life but so far there wasn't any progress.

"Now we'll be completely underwater when we step off but the TARDIS matrix will allow us to breathe as normal but you'll be soaking so the bathing suit is a must" The Doctor starts up and Clara can tell he's ready to go into a full lecture about the planet. He still hasn't turned around to look at her so she moves to stand in his way.

"Where's your bathing suit Doctor?" she asks with a smirk. The time lord turns to reply when his mouth forms an 'o' as he notices Clara is only wearing a red bikini and flip flops.

"I uh, just have to um, change now. Yes, that is what I am doing." He mumbles, his voice trailing off as he turns towards one of the numerous corridors. Once Clara is alone, she chuckles to herself over the Doctor's reaction. She quite likes how he reacts to her. She walks around the control room, brushing her fingers over the buttons when an inscription captures her eye. She leans in closer to analyse the circular pattern. It must be Gallifreyan she realizes. Suddenly, the meaning becomes clear in her mind. _Speed._ She jumps back, her shoes smacking the ground loudly.

"Clara? You look like you saw a ghost." The Doctor walks through in a pair of TARDIS* blue trunks. He looks up to the ceiling, "Are you being mean?"

"No it's not her. Doctor what language is that inscription? I thought it was Gallifreyan but- ?" She points to the word. He gives her a questioning look.

"It is. Right, we've been in the time vortex long enough. Let's get wet!" he shouts, moving around the controls like a madman. Clara instinctively holds onto the railing as the TARDIS shakes the room like an earthquake before landing with a thud. The Doctor walks over to hand Clara a pair of goggles with a smile. Gratefully, she takes them, smiling when she notices they match her bikini. The pair move towards the entrance hand in hand.

"Ready?" He asks. Clara gives his hand a squeeze.

"Ready."


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor pushes open the TARDIS door and steps out onto a small island of jade coloured sand, pulling Clara behind him. Clara looks around herself, absorbing the foreign environment whilst the Doctor grins at her reaction. Four suns hang in the lavender sky above them and a blue ocean surrounds the island. On the opposite side from where they are standing, a flag blows in the wind beside a gate leading into the ocean.

"I thought we were meant to be underwater?" Clara asks, her eyes raking over the bare surface. The Doctor places his arm around her shoulders then spins her towards the gate.

"We will be, I just had to park the TARDIS somewhere dry." He smiles down at Clara tucked underneath his arm. "You know, we are currently standing at the top of the tallest mountain in Nemonoria. It also serves as a landing pad for land walkers. That gate over there will lead us straight to the coronation." He removes his arm from her shoulder then offers his elbow to escort her. With a smirk, she hooks her elbow in his and together they walk to the gate.

When they reach the gate, it swings open to reveal black and rugged rock formed into steps. They cautiously move forward into the water, gasping a little at the cold temperature. As they continue on, they reach a point where the water reaches Clara's chin.

"You're sure we'll be able to breathe?" she demands, nervously glancing at the vast amount of water surrounding her.

"Absolutely. Here, we'll go under together." The Doctor stoops down to the same height as the short woman. She looks into his eyes, almost laughing out loud at her reflection in his goggles. Tightening her grip on him, they take the step that leaves them completely underwater. Clara's eyes widen in wonder at the sight before her. Mountains covered in barnacles and coral stretches out for miles. Roads run through them, some leading to caves. She notices several caves appear to be shops, others are homes and all carry red and gold flags with a face she can't quite make out.

"Clara, you can stop holding your breath." The Doctor reminds her, his voice sounding fainter than usual and a collection of bubbles form from his lips. Clara takes a small breath, preparing for her mouth to fill with water. Oxygen fills her lungs, the water making no impact. She grins in amazement and looks up at the Doctor. He's already gazing at her, admiring how her hairs floats around her like it has a life of its own. Despite the ridiculous goggles, he can't help but compare her to a sea goddess.

"You know, I always wanted to be a mermaid when I was little." She jokes with a laugh. She laughs harder at the sounds of her voice and the bubbles that follow. The Doctor laughs with her. He'd miss travelling with her whilst she'd been recovering from their trip to Trenzalore.

"Now is your chance to meet the closest thing. You'll love the Nemoni." He points ahead to a gold palace in the distance where figures with tails ending in five points stars and human like torsos are lined up. On their necks are gills, mostly covered by endless hair. Clara squeals in delight at the sight and steps forwards. Delighting in Clara's infectious excitement the Doctor releases his elbows and smirks at her. "Come on, I'll race you!"

Clara tries moving her legs at a fast pace, frowning as she realises how much the water slows her movements. Beside her, the Doctor pushes off the ground and swims past her, a smug smile on his lips. She notes that he wears flippers and, rolling her eyes, imitates his movements.

Naturally the Doctor outswims her, leaving an enjoyable view of his backside. Clara can feel a blush and is grateful he wasn't there to see it otherwise he'd be sure to remind her of it every day. As she swims along the path she can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu and every now and again, a piece of coral reminds her of a dream. She shakes the feeling off. Artie had recently done an assignment on the Great Barrier Reef and it had involved googling images of numerous aspects of marine life. It was just a coincidence.

The Doctor reaches the palace first and makes his way to a cart selling the gold and red flags that the locals all carried. The shopkeeper had turquoise coloured skin and yellow eyes with cat like slits. He pointed to a sign saying _50 clams_ then picks up a flag, the face turned away from the Doctor. The time lord's hands went to feel around his pockets, coming up short as he remembered his trunks had none.

"Here, I'll pay for you handsome." A female Nemoni in a hooded cloak standing beside him hands over a tiny bag to the shopkeeper. "Keep the change." She spins around and holds up the flag to the Doctor before walking off towards an ally way.

"Oi! Hang on a minute!" he cries out, swimming after her. "Who are you?" Anyone who calls him handsome is a friend of his. When he catches up behind her, she twists to face him, her tail moving the sand around his feet. She points to the face on his flag.

Holding the flag up to himself he studies the image. The face was female and heart shaped, had luscious brown hair, a petite nose and a smirk he knows and loves. But the eyes are wrong; gold with slitted pupils. "But that's-"

The alien before him removes her hood. "I am Princess Klara Ostracod the first of my name, soon to be Queen of Nemonria, Protector of the Nemoni."


	5. Chapter 5

Clara reaches the palace gates. They're twelve feet tall and gold. A pattern of the Nemoni holding cornucopias and dancing runs along the top. She gazes up in admiration and can picture the scene coming to life. Small stalls are placed nearby selling shells, figurines made of hardened sand and the red flags.

As Clara absorbs her surroundings, half-heartedly searching for the Doctor, the Nemoni rush past her, leaving behind a mass of bubbles. She giggles as they tickle her skin and glances at the market stalls. Rather than find a spot in the queue as the Doctor would have wanted, she decides to take a closer look at the figurines. Although she would never admit it, Angie would love them.

She swims over to an orange stall manned by a yellow Nemoni woman and gazes in awe at the statuettes before her. There are dozens of colours from the jade of the sand at her feet to lilac and to the white sands on Earth. The figurines depicted Nemoni dancing, playing intricate instruments and sitting prettily. A red one placed near a stack of flags catches her eye. The Nemoni's tail is twisted so that the five points of the tail acted as a fan over the face. Clara assumes it is a female as she is wearing two starfish over her chest and an array of jewellery. Atop her head is a delicate tiara but its the eyes that capture Clara's attention. They're so familiar and with a start she realises why. They wre the same eyes she sees in the mirror every day.

She straightens up to peer at the shopkeeper who is watching her closely. The shopkeeper delicately picks up the red figurine with her webbed hands and holds it out to Clara.

"75 clams," she says holding out her other hand expectantly. Clara shrugs her shoulders at the alien.

"I'm sorry but I don't have any." She starts to turn around when she feels a cool tug on her arm. The shopkeeper is grasping at her arm and staring into Clara's eyes, her slitted pupils widening. The figurine has been placed down and the alien is reaching for her goggles. Clara pulls at her arm but the grip is iron strong. A hand yanks at the goggles, sharp nails scratching at her nose. The alien gasps audibly and releases her grip.

"My sincerest apologies Your Highness," she murmurs, bowing her head. "but I had to be sure it was you. If you would be so kind as to wait a few moments, my son will arrive shortly."

Clara gapes in disbelief. _Your Highness? And what did her son have to do with anything?_ "I don't know what you're talking about, I need to go find my friend now." She hastily backs away from the stall and bumps into someone. She looks up into the face of another yellow Nemoni, a hulking male with green hair and hard eyes. A chuckle sounds from the stall.

"This is my son Your Highness. He'll make an excellent king I assure you," the shopkeeper rasps as the alien behind Clara seizes her arms. Clara struggles against him, kicking and scratching at tough skin. Her capturers pay her no mind and swim towards the palace. Clara screams out,

"DOCTOR!"

The Doctor's eyes are wide beneath his goggles as he stares at the alien standing before him. He can almost believe she's Clara; the tone of her voice, the curve of her lips and that funny nose of hers.

"Are you just going to stand there gawking at me, or are you going to introduce yourself?" she asks, a familiar glint in her eyes he recognises when Clara asks if they're lost.

"I'm the Doctor, Your Majesty," he says with a deep bow. She watches him with a raised eyebrow.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor," he grins, hands reaching up to straighten his bow tie that isn't there. "If I have my facts right and I usually do, on the day of a princess's coronation, she searches for a husband. Any luck?"

Klara Ostracod smirks at him with a tilted head. She swims closer to him, hovering so she can reach his eye level. "You tell me." She places a hand behind his neck and leans him to kiss him. He's hesitant and the water moves around them, indicating large arm movements. She holds on tighter until he eventually relaxes into her, placing one arm around her waist, the other in her hair.

The Doctor breaks apart from the embrace, sputtering. What would Clara think if she had seen that? Before him, Klara adjusts her hair and pulls the cloak over her head. She looks up to beam at him then grabs his hand.

"Where are we going?" he asks as she pulls him out from the alley way. "I need to find my friend."

"I'm sure she'll be at the coronation," she replies, keeping her eyes forward. "Come on, a future king needs to look good for his people."

They reach the market stalls where the Doctor frantically searches for his companion.

"CLARA!"

**Sorry this took so long, real life has been a little out of control. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sticking around. Cat xxx**


End file.
